FAST ESP 5.0 is due for release by end of the year FAST (Fast Search & Transfer) plans to launch its entry into the hot desktop search market and deliver an update to its Fast ESP (Enterprise Search Platform) by the end of the year.FAST is working on a server-based desktop search product, currently in internal beta testing, according to Rob Lancaster, vice president of channel development at FAST.FAST does not want to compete directly against Microsoft and Google in the desktop space, but sees value in unifying the desktop across the enterprise, Lancaster said. “Whatever we do will leverage a common code set. We see desktop search as an extension of the server platform,” Lancaster said.Version 5.0 of FAST ESP, which is also due by end of the year, will feature improvements focused around the areas of contextual search and structured data.“A key focus is on contextual search; search [that] has ability to detect relationships between people and objects,” Lancaster said. DatabasesSoftware Development